This invention is directed to storm reinforcement device and, in particular, to an easy-to-install and remove securement device especially suited for providing selective reinforcement of a garage door.
Windstorms, such as hurricanes, place severe stresses on buildings which, if left unchecked, can lead to property damage and loss of life. Although these storms are relatively slow moving, the sustained, high-velocity winds they produce are often strong enough to remove roofs from building and destroy building walls. In many cases, even if the roof and walls of a building are sufficiently strong to resist the winds produced by a given storm, the building aperture covers, such as doors and windows, will fail. Many devices have been developed to protect building aperture covers against damage from windstorms.
Some building aperture covers may be sufficiently reinforced by sheets of plywood anchored against the aperture periphery. Corrugated panels of aluminum or other rigid materials, removably mounted on permanent tracks, are used in other situations. These types of reinforcement methods are suitable for relatively-small apertures. However, since these types of reinforcement panels do not collapse, they must be removed and stored when not in use. Weight and space requirements quickly become prohibitive factors as the size of the aperture to be covered increases. Panels sized to cover large windows or doors may be too heavy and cumbersome to move by a single person. The need for two-person installation severely limits the usefulness of this reinforcement method; a second person may not be available when a storm approaches, possibly preventing proper installation.
Folding, accordion-style panels are used as a way to address some of the liabilities of found in fixed-panel reinforcement methods. These typically require installation of one or more permanent guide tracks and are not suitable in all instances. For example, since accordion-style reinforcement devices are folded, not removed, during storage, sufficient space is required on either side of the covered aperture to accommodate the folded panels. Additionally, these types of reinforcing devices are often exposed to weather and require preventative maintenance to ensure that the stored panels will unfold easily and travel along the guide tracks when needed. Furthermore, folding-panel reinforcement devices are typically custom made, requiring specialized equipment and many hours of labor for production and installation. This tends to make folding panel reinforcements expensive. Even in situations where cost is not a factor, the characteristics of folding panel reinforcement devices makes them unsuitable for many large openings. For example, when used to reinforce large aperture covers, like garage doors, the folded panels may interfere with entry and exit when folded into a storage orientation. Although some settings are capable of accommodating the folded panels, the need to keep the panels secured to the building exterior may prove unsightly, making folding panel reinforcement devices unsuitable.
Other devices have been developed specifically to support garage doors. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,708,917; 3,815,943; 3,891,021; 4,996,795; 5,205,096; 5,331,786; 5,337,520; and 5,371,970; each disclose garage door supporting devices. However, these devices do not lower the stresses placed on the door mounting hardware and do not protect the reinforced door against damage from sustained wind loads. Additionally, these devices each requires skill during installation and may not be engaged by hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,758 allows hand engagement, but remains secured to a door even when not used. Although this arrangement is suitable for many settings, permanently attached reinforcement members add extra weight that may be undesirable in some cases.
Thus, what is needed is an aperture cover reinforcement device that includes advantages of the known devices, while addressing the shortcomings they exhibit. The reinforcement device should be simple to operate, being engageable by hand, without tools. The reinforcement device should also provide support against damage from both positive and negative wind loads. The reinforcement device should be removable for repair and lightweight enough for transport by a single person. The reinforcement device should also allow unhindered operation of the secured door when the device has been disengaged for storage.
The present invention is a reinforcement device suited for bracing a building aperture cover, such a garage door; the device is easy to install and remove. The device may be operated by one person without tools. The device employs an elongated support post having a first end spaced apart from a second end by a middle portion. An engagement pin extends from each end of the post. During use, the first end engagement pin is held in place by a bracket assembly attached to the building aperture upper boundary wall, and the second end engagement pin is held in place by a floor-mounted anchor plate. The post middle portion is secured to the aperture cover via cooperative interaction between linking hooks mounted along the post middle portion and corresponding linking plates mounted on the aperture cover.
More particularly, the bracket assembly includes a wall plate that is mounted to the aperture upper boundary wall, a spacer channel that extends outward orthogonally from the wall plate, and a pin engagement plate adjustably mounted on the spacer channel. The spacer channel includes a pin passthrough slot, and the pin engagement plate includes a pin passthrough aperture. The passthrough slot and aperture cooperatively facilitate insertion of the first engagement pin into the bracket assembly during use. Bracing notches disposed on the first end engagement pin engage corresponding pin passthrough aperture edges when the post shifts laterally, as when door reinforced by the present invention is subjected to wind loads. In this manner, the bracing notches prevent vertical motion of the support post during use.
The floor-mounted anchor plate includes a pin insertion aperture that accommodates the second end engagement pin. Bracing notches on the second end engagement pin engage corresponding edges of the pin insertion aperture when the post shifts laterally, as when door reinforced by the present invention is subjected to wind loads. In this manner, the bracing notches prevent vertical motion of the support post during use.
The middle portion of the post is removably secured to the reinforced garage door by S-shaped linking hooks disposed along a distal sidewall of the post. Each hook is contoured to engage a corresponding linking plate when the device is in a securing orientation.
During use, the first end engagement pin is inserted upward into the upper bracket assembly, until the post first end becomes seated against the bracket assembly. The post is then lowered, and the second end engagement pin is directed into the pin insertion aperture disposed in the lower anchor plate. As the second engagement pin is guided into the pin insertion aperture, the first end engagement pin travels downward with respect to the bracket assembly and the linking hooks engage the linking plates. As the post second end comes to rest on the lower anchor plate, the device assumes a securing orientation that prevents unwanted movement of the secured aperture cover.
Thus, it is an objective of the instant invention to provide a reinforcement device that is simple to operate, being engageable by hand, without tools.
Another objective of the instant invention is to provide a reinforcement device that provides support against damage from both positive and negative wind loads.
A further objective of the instant invention is to provide a reinforcement device that is removable for repair and lightweight enough for transport by a single person.
An additional objective of the instant invention is to provide a reinforcement device that allows unhindered operation of the secured door when the device has been disengaged for storage.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.